Flamenco celebrates its roots

“I have no idea how I get up in the air,’’ Barrull says, asked about that performance at Tablao Cordobés in Barcelona three years ago. “I guess I should try to figure it out.’’

Barrull was speaking by phone from London before coming to the United States to perform in the Fall Flamenco Festival 2010, “Gypsy Roots of Flamenco’’ at the Berklee Performance Center. On Nov. 19, Barrull will perform “Gitanerias’’ with Angelita Vargas, a tribute to the passing of Gypsy traditions from generation to generation. On Nov. 21, Pepe Torres will perform “Homenaje,’’ an homage to his grandfather, singer Joselero de Moron.

For Barrull to explain how he levitates would be as difficult as having him try to analyze what makes his performances so thrilling. But while he is only 27, aficionados have already granted him a place in the pantheon of superb male flamenco artists. The great-grandnephew of revered guitarist Diego del Gastor and son of the famed late dancer Ramon Barrull, Barrull has embraced the Gypsy flamenco tradition. Growing up in Macarena, the Gypsy quarter of Seville, he absorbed all the ingredients — Jewish, Arab, Indian, Gypsy, and Spanish music, dating back centuries — that make flamenco so distinctive. He began performing at family gatherings at 7, and by 10 had graduated to the stage. “My father was my most important role model,’’ he says. “I watched him closely to learn our family style. It’s very macho, full of pride and with distinctive rhythms. But it isn’t explosive like many other male flamenco styles; it’s calmer and more lyrical.’’

At his father’s suggestion, he practiced every day to build his strength and develop his technique. “It’s only natural that I bring my modern sensibility to my dancing,’’ he says. “For instance, I don’t wear old-fashioned clothes from the ’50s, but I’ll always be grounded in tradition. I count myself lucky that my father belonged to the golden age of flamenco performers — the ’50s through the ’70s — and that I was able to see other great artists of that time.’’

Barrull’s performance partner, Vargas, 61, is an artist from that golden age, which included Pastora Pavon, Tomas Pavon, Juan Talega, and La Fernanda. Flamenco connoisseurs might recall her in “Flamenco Puro’’ in the ’80s, one of the first successful flamenco shows on Broadway. More recently, she joined the Farruco family on its heralded European tour. “It’s a dream come true,’’ Barrull says. “She’s an icon of flamenco dance. In her every movement, you see why flamenco moves people so deeply.’’

His dedication to tradition makes it impossible for him to see anything artistically interesting in modernized flamenco. “Once flamenco is choreographed,’’ he says, “it loses its heart. It’s no longer connected to its roots. It looks stale. Many of those modernizing the art form innovate simply for the sake of innovating. They don’t seem to understand the role of music, the verses and the aural tradition that inform everything we do. In its lack of rootedness, it loses its spirituality.’’

Nothing means more to Barrull than that spirituality, or duende. “When I dance,’’ he says, “I feel something very special, almost sacred, a connection to my father’s legacy. It makes it possible for me to go deep in myself to find expression. The greatest moments for me are when I know there are Gypsies in the audience and they tell me after my performance that the way I dance reminded them of my father. It’s not just a style, it’s my identity. I’m not only Spanish or a Spanish Gypsy, but a man from a certain family and a certain region.’’

Pepe Torres shares Barrull’s artistic values and a few relatives, including guitarist del Gastor, who is also his great-great-uncle. Though he grew up in Moron de la Frontera, he and Barrull were close friends and learned from the same performers. Over the years, he has toured with such major artists as Manuela Carrasco, Farruquito, and Antonio Canales and established his own company. He also joined Son de la Frontera, a popular music group that disbanded in 2008. As its percussionist, he earned high praise for ingeniously tapping out complex time signatures and drawing out an array of sonic textures from his feet. “I dance with my head, hair, hands, legs, everything,’’ he explains, “but most importantly, my heart.’’

Now 32, he plans to show the full range of his knowledge in “Homenaje.’’ Not only will he dance, but he will also sing and play guitar, demonstrating musically what he has assimilated from his family. “Flamenco is a way of life,’’ he says, “a whole philosophy, not just a talent for one element.’’

Out of respect for tradition, Torres asked guitarist, singer, and dancer Juan del Gastor, a family elder of 63, to perform in his show to serve as a crucial link between the past and future. “My generation has shown itself to be very knowledgeable and respectful of flamenco’s roots,’’ he says. “It provides us with a terrific base. I see our generation as the embers left after the blazing bonfire of the golden age — the embers that will spark another golden age.’’

Valerie Gladstone can be reached at vgladstone@saharaltd.com.